Fourteen Wiltshire and Swindon councillors have signed a letter urging the government to scrap the ‘most damaging’ parts of its planning white paper. 

They are among over 2,000 councillors from across England who have signed an open letter to the Housing Secretary, Robert Jenrick calling on him to rethink the proposed planning reforms.

Chairman of CPRE Wiltshire, Anne Henshaw said the organisation is asking for more councillors to speak out against the planning shake-up. 

“We need to trust in local expertise to shape our local communities and work with elected representatives to create the places and homes we need, especially in rural areas,” she said

 “CPRE hopes Wiltshire Council will strongly rebut these national government threats to our landscapes and communities, ensuring that the consultation and review of all aspects of its own Wiltshire Local Plan (2026-2036) put local democracy, climate change and local job creation firmly at its heart.”

The Planning for the Future consultation, which took place in the autumn, proposed radical change to the planning system. 

CPRE Wiltshire says this could reduce the opportunity for residents to influence planning decisions in rural communities.

In the letter to Robert Jenrick, councillors warn that the proposals risk undermining the public’s trust in the planning system. 

It says the changes threaten local democracy, scrutiny and accountability and will likely lead to worse outcomes for communities. 

The letter adds: “The proposed zoning system could radically reduce protections for nature, local green spaces and fail to tackle climate change. This would place additional development pressure on greenfield sites and produce communities that are less sustainable and with a lower quality of life.”

CPRE Wiltshire said it is concerned some of the proposals would lead to house building in the county far beyond what is needed and that this would lead to poorly placed developments in the countryside which would fail to deliver enough affordable housing or address the declared climate crisis. 

CPRE Wiltshire fears the promise made in the government’s 25-year environment plan that ‘New development will happen in the right places’ would be undermined. 

The Wiltshire councillors who have signed the letter are:

David Bowler, Royal Wootton Bassett 

Trevor Carbin, Holt and Staverton

Ernie Clark, Hilperton

Mollie Groom, Wiltshire

David Halik, Trowbridge Grove

Ross Henning, Lowden and Rowden

Ruth Hopkinson, Corsham Pickwick

Anthony Jackson, Warminster Broadway 

Bob Jones, Cricklade

Brian Mathew, Box and Colerne

Steve Oldrieve, Trowbridge Paxcroft

Horace Prickett, Southwick

Ian Thorn, Calne Central 

Stan Pajak, South Swindon